Search Results for: “Sirens”

Tough Year For Cancelled Series: ‘Happy Endings’ No Go At USA, ‘Body Of Proof’ RIP

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday June 1, 2013 @ 1:40pm PDT
Nellie Andreeva

As they say, for every cancelled broadcast series, like NBC’s Southland and ABC’s Cougar Town, that finds a second home, there are scores that don’t. Sony TV began exploring a possible future for its cult ABC comedy Happy Endings well in advance of the network’s May decision not to order a fourth season. USA, which is re-entering the half-hour comedy space in a big way this fall with off-network acquisition Modern Family, expressed interest dating back to early April. It entered talks with Sony immediately after ABC made the cancellation decision the Friday before upfronts. But three weeks later, I’ve learned that USA has opted not to proceed with the pickup. I hear the cable network’s brass loved the show creatively but its low ratings on ABC played a factor in the decision as it meant a large investment in marketing and promotion, money USA decided to spend on its home grown half-hour series. The network just made its first half-hour series orders in 15 years, Sirens and Playing House.

While USA was considered the only real play for Happy Endings after ABC, Sony TV is known for never giving up and finding a way to bring shows back from the dead (Unforgettable, Drop Dead Diva, Breaking In, just to name a few.) I hear the studio continues conversations with other possible distributors. With its small but rabid fan base, Happy Endings would be a good … Read More »

Comments 66

USA Orders Family Comedy Pilot From Peter Ocko

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 22, 2013 @ 9:00am PDTTags: Divide & Conquer, Peter Ocko, USA Network
Nellie Andreeva

USA Network has greenlighted Divide & Conquer, a half-hour comedy pilot written and executive produced by Peter Ocko (Fairly Legal, The Office). The pickup comes on the heels of USA last week making its first comedy series orders in 15 years with Sirens and Playing House and greenlighting half-hour pilot Love Is Dead. USA’s original comedy strategy is built around the network’s off-network acquisition of Modern Family, which launches on USA in September. USA’s first original comedies are slated to premiere in first quarter 2014 as companions to Modern Family. Among Sirens, Playing House, Love Is Dead and Divide & Conquer, Divide & Conquer is the only true family comedy that could go well with Modern Family. Produced by Universal Cable Prods, it gets into the heads of a big family: four children finding their way to adulthood in these complicated times, and the parents whose lives they’re sucking dry to get there. In addition to its development, USA also is considering a pickup of recently cancelled cult ABC comedy Happy Endings, which looks promising, and is taking another crack at pilot Paging Dr. Freed. Ocko is with Vision Art.

Comments (10)

USA Network Unveils Drama Development Slate And Plans For Daytime

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 8:45am PDTTags: Cat Greenleaf, Gale Anne Hurd, Horizon, USA Network

USA Network unveiled its drama development slate today and said it will start production this summer on the pilot Horizon, the period genre drama from The Walking Dead producer Gale Anne Hurd that the network pushed in February. The new slate (see the full list below) includes Complications, the latest from Burn Notice‘s Matt Nix; the new Rob Thomas project Blanco County; and works from Doug Liman and David Semel. The news comes on the heels of the network’s newest original series, the Jeff Eastin-created Graceland, joining the summer drama schedule with a premiere set for June 6.

Related: USA Picks Up ‘Sirens’ And ‘Playing House’, Orders Half-Hour Pilot Read More »

Comments (12)

Latest On The Future Of ‘Happy Endings’, ‘Paging Dr. Freed’ And ‘Psych’ At USA

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 7:10am PDTTags: Happy Endings, Modern Family, Upfronts, USA Network
Nellie Andreeva

Comedy is expected to take center stage at USA Network‘s upfront presentation this afternoon as the cable network touts to advertisers the fall launch of its big off-network acquisition, Modern Family, and unveils its newly picked up original comedy series Sirens and Playing House. The cable network has been getting extra attention from comedy fans in the past week following ABC’s decision last Friday to cancel cult series Happy Endings. Talks between USA and leading Happy Endings producer Sony TV continue. At this point, I hear a pickup appears unlikely but the network is carefully exploring the opportunity to migrate a show with some success on broadcast TV and a dedicated fan base the way ABC’s Cougar Town moved to TBS.

Related: ‘Happy Endings’ Cancelled At ABC, Will USA Step In?

Of its three comedy pilot/presentations it had in consideration, USA picked up two, Sirens and Playing House. The third, Paging Dr. Freed, which was the first one ordered almost two years ago, is still in contention. I hear USA brass liked the pilot for the family medical comedy but thought it felt more like a season finale and didn’t properly introduce the characters. I hear the network approached Paging Dr. Freed creator Michael Feldman and studio Fox 21 about redeveloping the project and writing a new pilot script. If USA likes the new script, I hear it is intent on picking up the project straight to series. The options on the Paging Dr. Freed producers have been extended while those on the cast have lapsed. I hear USA is keen on bringing Annie Potts back if she is available. (Her ABC pilot Murder In Manhattan did not get picked up but is being considered by cable networks.) Read More »

Comments 35

USA Picks Up Comedy Series ‘Sirens’ And ‘Playing House’, Orders Half-Hour Pilot

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 4:00am PDTTags: Playing House, Sirens, Upfronts, USA Network
Nellie Andreeva

Three years after USA Network signaled a move into half-hour comedy with the off-network acquisition of Modern Family and three months before the ABC comedy is to launch on the cable network, USA has greenlighted its first original half-hour comedies in some 15 years: the single-camera Sirens from Denis Leary and Bob Fisher and Playing House, from Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham. Additionally, USA, which is holding its upfront today, has picked up single-camera half-hour comedy pilot Love Is Dead, from writer Zev Borow. USA’s other half-hour pilot, Paging Dr. Freed, is still alive. And USA is in conversations about picking up ABC comedy series Happy Endings.

Sirens and Playing House will premiere in the first quarter of 2014 as companions to Modern Family, which is set to bow on USA on September 24. “With Modern Family joining our lineup in the fall, we can leverage television’s most popular comedy to serve as a powerful launch pad for new originals in this genre,” said USA’s co-president Chris McCumber. Added co-president Jeff Wachtel, “Our new series come from some of the best comedic talent in the business, and reflect USA’s style — with great characters, strong execution and compelling storytelling.” USA ran several half-hour comedies under the network’s old regime in the 1990s, including Weird Science, USA High and Campus Cops, before USA rebuilt its brand as a home of light, character-driven hourlong series over the past decade. Read More »

Comments (18)

Cannes: Siren Studios & The Solution Launch $50M Fund; ‘Laggies’ Tapped As First Project

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 9, 2013 @ 3:00pm PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Laggies, Siren Studios, The Forger, The Solution Entertainment Group

Laggies is the dark comedy directed by Lynne Shelton that now has Keira Knightley attached alongside Chloe Moretz and Sam Rockwell. Also getting some of this first cash is the John Travola heist pic The Forger that Solution is producing and co-financing with Code Entertainment. Here’s the release announcing the new fund, which is the latest tie-up between the Siren and the Solution who already have a genre sales label together called Synchronicity among other partnerships:

Siren Studios, a rapidly growing creative hub for entertainment production, and The Solution Entertainment Group (The Solution), the production, financing and international sales company have completed the financing on a new multi-year $50 million revolving equity fund to finance the development and production of the partners expanding slate of feature films and television product, it was announced by Siren’s Craig Chapman, Brandon Nutt and Kyle Jackson and Myles Nestel, co-founder and partner of The Solution.

Read More »

Comments (1)

A&E Orders Reality Series About Stay At Home Dads

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 3, 2013 @ 9:29am PDTTags: A&E Network, Modern Dads
Nellie Andreeva

Expanding into comedic family reality series has been a priority for A&E Network. Now the network behind Duck Dynasty has greenlighted new nonfiction series Modern Dads. The project, which has received an order for eight half-hour episodes, revolves around four stay-at-home dads in Austin. It follows their exploits as they navigate manhood. juggling the requirements and social expectations of being both a “modern man” and “modern dad”. Sirens Media is producing, with Rebecca Toth Diefenbach, Valerie Haselton Drescher, Jen Mayer Kulp, Lucilla D’Agostino and Adam Paul executive producing.

Comments (3)

Nick Rigg & Leftfield Entertainment Form Joint Venture

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 1, 2013 @ 12:00pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Leftfield Entertainment, Loud TV, Nick Rigg
Nellie Andreeva

Unscripted TV producer and executive Nick Rigg and Leftfield Entertainment, the production company behind History’s Pawn Stars franchise and Bravo’s The Real Housewives Of New Jersey have formed a new joint venture: Loud TV. The entertainment and production company, based in New York, will create a broad range of unscripted television and digital content, including branded entertainment. It has hired Julian Locke as EVP and Lauren Deen as SVP, lifestyle development. Both executives worked previously with Rigg at Leopard Films USA (House Hunters International), where Rigg was president from 2005 through early 2013, growing the company from a single pilot to producing more than 200 hours of programming a year. “As a producer and executive for 15 years, it’s been my goal to create a new company that will produce original content across a range of genres, and to assemble a team of nimble, dedicated and highly talented people with the experience and guts to execute their creative visions.” Added Leftfield CEO/producer Brent Montgomery, “We are excited to follow our recent acquisition of Sirens Media with the establishment of Loud TV, and know that Nick Rigg is the best possible person to lead the charge.”

Comments (0)

USA Buys Comedy From Writers Jeremy Miller & Dan Cohn, Producer Peter Traugott

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday April 26, 2013 @ 10:15am PDTTags: Jeremy Miller & Dan Cohn, Smother, USA Network
Nellie Andreeva

USA Network, Jeremy Miller, Dan Cohn, Peter TraugottUSA Network continues its push in half-hour comedy. The cable network has bought Smother, a project from writers Jeremy Miller & Dan Cohn, Universal TV and Peter Traugott’s studio-based TBD Prods about a 30-year-old man who has three moms after his mother and father both marry other women. When he has to go back to living at home, all three moms take control of his financial, professional and personal life. Miller and Cohn executive produce alongside Traugott and Rachel Kaplan of TBD, Brad Epstein of Panther Films and Margaret Riley of Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Traugott and Riley began working on the idea while Traugott was still at Brillstein, with the project ultimately landing at Uni TV after Traugott set up shop there. Read More »

Comments 24

Denis Leary Signing On As Cleveland Browns Coach In Gridiron Pic ‘Draft Day’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday April 9, 2013 @ 8:52am PDTTags: Denis Leary, Draft Day, Ivan Reitman, Lionsgate
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Denis Leary has been set to star in Draft Day, the Ivan Reitman-directed football film that stars Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. Pic’s getting underway through Lionsgate and Gigi Pritzker’s OddLot Entertainment. Leary will play Vince Penn, the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, who finds himself at odds with the team’s GM (Costner). It adds extra pressure as the GM attempts to make the right picks to lift the franchise through the NFL draft. There was a ticking clock on this casting, because part of the film will be shot at the April 25 draft to be held in Radio City Music Hall. As originally constituted in the Black List script by Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph, the team was supposed to be the Buffalo Bills, but Lionsgate got better incentives in Ohio and made it the Cleveland Browns. Leary has been co-executive producing IFC’s Maron and is co-writing and producing Sirens, the pilot for USA Network. His Apostle banner also produced the Detroit firefighter documentary Burn, which won the Audience Award at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival. He is represented by WME and Ziffren.

Comments (7)

Bravo Unveils Slate Of 17 New And 18 Returning Series, Announces Scripted & Unscripted Projects In Development

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday April 2, 2013 @ 9:31am PDTTags: Bravo, Rita
Nellie Andreeva

Bravo Media today unveiled what it says is its largest slate of original programming ever with 17 newly greenlighted and 18 returning unscripted series. That is a 15% increase over last year. Bravo also announced three new scripted and three unscripted projects in development. Bravo’s first scripted pilot, Rita, is now in production as the network is eying a launch of its first scripted series in the fourth quarter. (Bravo’s second scripted pilot, The Joneses, did not go to production.) Bravo logged its seventh consecutive year of ratings growth in 2012 and is currently running up vs. last year in total viewers and the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics. “Bravo’s ongoing investment in high-quality original content across every platform continues to drive our growth year-over-year,” said Frances Berwick, President of Bravo and Style Media. Bravo, which recently moved under the oversight of NBCU cable maven Bonnie Hammer, also is expanding its multi-screen initiatives and increasing the number of TV360 deals. The network’s slate introduced today indicates that creatively, Bravo is staying the course, at least for now. Here are the details on new and returning series and projects in development:

NEW SERIES GREENLIGHTS:

“Below Deck” – Summer 2013

Produced by 51 Minds with Mark Cronin and Courtland Cox as Executive Producers.

The upstairs and downstairs worlds collide when this young and single crew, known as “yachties,” live, love and work together onboard a privately owned extravagant yacht.  Working and tending to the ever-changing needs of their demanding charter guests is not always smooth sailing. Read More »

Comments 28

Abbey Robertson Joins Apostle As Manager

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday March 22, 2013 @ 2:46pm PDTTags: Abbey Robertson, Apostle
Nellie Andreeva

Abbey Robertson has joined Apostle Management, the management division of Denis Leary and Jim Serpico’s production company Apostle. Robertson, who was a manager at The Collective, joins George Heller in Apostle’s Los Angeles office. Prior to that, she was the co-founder with Melody Hammer of Adept Entertainment, a management and production company. Robertson’s focus will be on creating crossover opportunities for Apostle’s stable of actors, comedians and stand-ups, which includes Robert Kelly, Louis Katz, Nate Bargatze and Erin Foley. “Abbey has a great eye for talent and is well respected in the community,” Serpico said. Apostle’s TV division is posting new IFC series Maron, which will debut May 3, and recently finished half-hour USA pilot Sirens, co-written by Leary.

Comments 20

Leftfield Pictures Acquires ‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Producer Sirens Media

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday March 20, 2013 @ 9:00am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Leftfield Pictures, Real Housewives Of New Jersey, Sirens Media
Nellie Andreeva

Brent Montgomery’s New York-based independent reality TV production company Leftfield Pictures (Pawn Stars) has acquired Rebecca Toth Diefenbach and Valerie Haselton’s fellow independent unscripted producer Sirens Media. Headquartered in Silver Spring, MD, Sirens Media is behind Bravo’s hit docu-soap Real Housewives Of New Jersey, now in its fifth season, and has nine series in production for Discovery ID, including Who The (Bleep) Did I Marry? and Deadly Affairs, hosted by Susan Lucci. This marks the first acquisition for Leftfield, which is establishing Leftfield Entertainment, a new umbrella company that will be used to continue to expand the company’s production footprint via acquisitions, new joint ventures, and producer overall deals. According to Leftfield, this the first acquisition transaction between two independent U.S. TV production companies, and the first time a U.S. deal was financed entirely by a syndicate of banks (the deal was led by Barclays and includes RBS Citizens and SunTrust banks). Read More »

Comments (3)

USA Orders Jessica St. Clair/Lennon Parham Comedy Presentation

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday February 15, 2013 @ 5:12pm PSTTags: Jessica St. Clair, Lennon Parham, USA
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: USA has given a pilot presentation order to a single-camera comedy written by and starring Upright Citizens Brigade alums Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair, the duo behind NBC’s Best Friends Forever. The Office‘s Zach Woods is eyed for another role in the project, directed by Jeffrey Blitz whose credits include The Office and Parks & Recreation. Like BFF, which also started as a presentation, the untitled USA project will be produced by Scot Armstrong and Ravi Nandan’s American Work. Universal Cable Prods. is the studio.
Read More »

Comments 25

2013 USA Network Pilots

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday February 12, 2013 @ 4:07pm PST

COMEDY

DIVIDE & CONQUER
PICKED UP TO SERIES
STUDIO: Universal Cable Prods
TEAM: Peter Ocko (w, ep)
LOGLINE: A look inside the heads of a big family: four children finding their way to adulthood in these complicated times, and the parents whose lives they’re sucking dry to get there.

LOVE IS DEAD
 PICKED UP TO SERIES
STUDIO: Universal Cable Prods/Gaumont International Television
TEAM: Zev Borow (w), Katie O’Connell (ep), Elisa Roth (ep), Sidonie Dumas (ep), Christophe Riandee (ep)
LOGLINE: Based on a French short film, it is set at a unique company that specializes in breaking up romantic relationships — rationally, compassionately, thoroughly — on behalf of those who are willing to pay to not be around when it happens.

PLAYING HOUSE
PICKED UP TO SERIES
STUDIO: Universal Cable Prods
TEAM: Jessica St. Clair (w, ep), Lennon Parham (w, ep), Scot Armstrong (ep), Ravi Nandan (ep)
LOGLINE: A mother-to-be Maggie asks her single and career-driven best friend Emma to return home from her job overseas to attend her baby shower, having no idea what’s truly in store.
CAST: Jessica St. Clair, Lennon Parham

SIRENS
PICKED UP TO SERIES
STUDIO: Fox TV Studios
TEAM: Denis Leary (w, ep), Bob Fisher (w, ep), Jim Serpico (ep), Hal Vogel (ep), David Aukin (ep), David Leach (ep)
LOGLINE: Follows three of Chicago’s best EMTs whose sometimes silly, self-righteous and even self-destructive personalities make them unqualified for sustaining relationships, friendships and most occupations. They are, however, uniquely qualified for saving anyone who winds up in their ambulance.
CAST: Michael Mosley, Kevin Daniels, Jessica McNamee, Kevin Bigley

DRAMA

HORIZON (pushed … Read More »

Comments (7)

USA Picks Up World War II Alien Drama Pilot Produced By Gale Anne Hurd

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday December 6, 2012 @ 4:00pm PSTTags: Gale Anne Hurd, Horizon, USA Network
Nellie Andreeva

Eight years after the debut of its last sci-fi show, miniseries-turned-series 4400, USA Network is re-entering the genre space with Horizon, a cast-contingent drama pilot from The Walking Dead executive producer Gale Anne Hurd.

Set during the height of World War II, Horizon centers on a secretary at the FBI who discovers that her husband might have been killed in a battle with a spaceship in the South Pacific. Obsessed with learning the truth, she becomes the only person standing between Earth and an alien invasion. Bridget Tyler (Burn Notice) wrote the script and will co-executive produce for Universal Cable Prods. and Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment, which has a deal at the studio. “Horizon is our first genre piece since The 4400 and the first ever period drama for the network,” said USA Network co-presidents Jeff Wachtel and Chris McCumber. “This signals the next step in the evolution of our programming brand.” Read More »

Comments (16)

Global Showbiz Briefs: UK Hacking Report Due, Toby Jones Cast, Lingerie Football

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday November 28, 2012 @ 9:44pm PSTTags: Global Showbiz Briefs, Julian Fellowes, Leveson Inquiry

Last-Minute Angling Ahead Of UK Media Ethics Report
Lord Justice Brian Leveson‘s report into UK media ethics will be published Thursday. Today, key cross-party figures from the House of Commons and the House of Lords voiced their opposition to statutory control of the newspaper business. In a joint letter to The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, more than 80 signatories including Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, London Olympics chairman Sebastian Coe and former home secretary David Blunkett, wrote the solution to abuses of the press “is not new laws but a profound restructuring of the self-regulatory system.” But The Guardian also reports that prime minister David Cameron, who had a 24-hour advance look at the report, is likely to reject proposals of a re-jiggered form of self-regulation. The question of whether any form of regulation will be legislated by law remains hotly contentious. Leveson’s recommendations are likely to be strong, though not to the point of insisting on state control over the press. The judge has made clear he does not intend for his report to become another footnote in the history of “failed regulatory systems.” – Joe Utichi
Read More »

Comments (0)

‘Next Caller’ Creator Sounds Off On Series Demise

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday November 17, 2012 @ 3:16pm PSTTags: Dane Cook, NBC, Next Caller
Nellie Andreeva

In a post on his blog, Stephen Falk, creator/executive producer of NBC midseason comedy Next Caller, discusses the network’s decision last month to pull the plug on the series. Next Caller, produced by Lionsgate TV and Universal TV, starred Dane Cook as a foul-mouthed satellite radio DJ forced to share the mic with a chipper NPR feminist (Collette Wolfe). Jeffrey Tambor, Joy Osmanski and Wolé Parks co-starred in the series, whose four completed episodes won’t air. In a post titled Advice To Young TV Writers (but really: What Happened To My NBC Show), Falk describes the effect the cancellation has had on him, addresses the potential reasons for Next Caller‘s demise, shares some lessons from the experience and voices support for female comedy writers. Here is his post in his entirety.

Hey, you aspiring TV writers. It’s a hard job to crack into, but if you’re good enough and driven enough, it will happen for you. Don’t give up!

For if you work hard enough, someday you too may work on your own show for a year — from pitch to outline to script to pilot to the triumph of being picked up to series: the Golden Ticket. Then you might move across the country to actually make the show, hire a hundred actors and writers and crew members, and then in the middle of editing the 4th episode, get your show abruptly cancelled via late-night Friday phone call from Los Angeles. Then the fun part: you get to walk in shock back to your office — abandoning the confused editor waiting to lock the episode — and personally call all the actors and writers and crew and inform them the proverbial plug has been pulled and they no longer have a job, sorry.

Read More »

Comments 92

Investigation Discovery Renews ‘Deadly Affairs’ With Susan Lucci For Season 2

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 12, 2012 @ 7:00am PSTTags: Investigation Discovery, Susan Lucci
Nellie Andreeva

Investigation Discovery has greenlighted a second season of Deadly Affairs for summer 2013. The series hosted by Susan Lucci premiered in September to a 1.22 HH rating and 3.5 million total viewers, the second-best series debut in network history. Deadly Affairs, produced by Sirens Media, tells real-life tales of passionate love affairs-turned-crimes of passion.

Comments (2)
More Deadline | Hollywood »